Jack Catch's Dance
by ElvenSailorGirl
Summary: Multiple characters thoughts before Jack's hanging. Each chapter is a separate OneShot.
1. Doubts

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Never have, and I guarantee I never will.

**Doubts**

I pace the length of the shop, worrying. _What if this does not work?_ My mind nags. _What if you cannot save him?_ I let out an aggravated groan. Two more hours. Only two more…

The time passes slowly, as the deathly fate of a friend draws closer. If I can change it, then I must change it. I cannot stand aside and let them kill a man like Jack. Not the criminal, but the good man. _And if this does not work?_ my mind whispered. I do not know what I shall do if this goes ill is all the answer I have.

The courtyard is filled with people who have come to see the hanging, and again the doubts return. _What if he dies_ _because of this?_ _What if his blood is on your hands? _Try as I might I cannot remove the persistent thoughts of failure from my mind. I should leave; stop this injustice some other way. But I cannot, my feet are attached to the ground, as if they were welded together, as they lead him to the gallows.

"Jack Sparrow" Thus began the listing of his 'numerous crimes against the crown'. I could see the annoyed expression he made at the omission of 'Captain'. I look around the crowd, trying to find the angle from which to approach the gallows. Straight ahead would be best I decided after a moment of deliberation. As I followed the edge of the gallows backwards with my eyes, I spotted Elizabeth. How I loved her. I needed to tell her, I should have told her so many times before, and if I did not tell her now, I might never have another chance.

I weaved through the crowd till I reached the higher platform upon which her father, her fiancé, and she stood. I stopped and pushed down my heart which was beating in my throat. I did not have time to be nervous.

"Governor Swann . Commodore. Elizabeth . I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. I love you."

I moved away from the platform again weaving my way through the crowd. If I couldn't push my way through quicker I would be unable to do anything. I had to get through the crowd. _And if you can't?_ The teasing voice in the back of my mind hissed. _If he dies what will you do then, hmm?__How will you live when you have a man's blood on your_ _hands?_ I do not know, but I will try anyway. I cannot let fear keep me from completing this.

"Move!" I shouted, drawing my sword. The trap door of the gallows swung open. And in one smooth motion that was completely thoughtless, I threw the sword. Doubts would have to wait.


	2. Justice

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, or anything associated to it. There is no possibility of profit being made from this.

**Justice**

This was not justice. Yes, he was guilty of previous crimes, but killing a man for saving another man's life when the law-abiding would not, was devoid of a sense of justice. Justice was higher than that. A man should not be condemned for deeds done for the betterment of his fellow man.

"Elizabeth?"

If I had the choice I would spend the remainder of this day here, in my chambers, lamenting my fate as well as his. I had made a decision, and I would regret it. I had not thought this would be the result. I had inadvertently condemned a man, as well as myself, all for naught, as when anything happened that Commodore Norrington could connect Will to, I would most likely lose him.

"Elizabeth!"

"Yes, Father," I called back. I knew he force me to go to the fort for the execution. 'We must make an appearance.' he would say. It was required. It was one of the less glamorous portions of my life. Anyone with a position would tell you that one was expected to be at all executions for crime against the Crown. "I'm coming."

"Good, it is expected of us you know."

I knew he would bring that up. He had before every execution I had attended since I was 13 and protested one by refusing to go with him. I raised myself from the chair, and opened the door.

* * *

I stood on a raised platform of nearly the same height as the gallows with my father on one side of me and Commodore Norrington, my new fiancé, on the other. As they led Jack to the gallows, I was overwhelmed by an urge to voice my thoughts. I had held back as long as I could. 

"This is wrong." I said.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law. As are we all"

'If we are all bound by the law why did you pardon Will?' The question resounded in my mind. I couldn't ask it though. I stared out over the crowd, determined not to lose my temper. The corner of my eye caught sight of a man in a hat with an enormous feather. I recognized him as Will as he grew closer. I continued looking forward, as not to draw attention to him, as the Commodore still carried a smart dislike of him.

"Governor Swann. Commodore. Elizabeth, I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. I love you." He was gone as soon as he had come. There was something different, like he was afraid of something. Then suddenly as he began to push his way through the crowd, recognition of what he planned to do hit me full force. Perhaps Justice would be served after all. Ahead of me, past the gallows, I saw the mute man's parrot; the crew had not abandoned Jack after all. Commodore Norrington began to move beside me, obviously having caught on to Will's plan. 'What do I do? How can I help them?' I thought. 'I don't know, I Don't Know!' I began to lose my breath. Not what I was shooting for but I'll take what works.

"I can't breathe." I whispered airily.

The Commodore turned as I fell backwards. The drums were sharp and fast and suddenly they stopped. I jolted upwards, surprising my Father. Justice would be served properly in its own time.


	3. To Dance

Disclaimer: I own no part of Pirates of the Caribbean, no profit can possibly be made from this.

**To Dance**

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, Cross-step, turn, 1, 2, 3…I still remembered the steps even after all the years had passed since I had learned them. Soon I would dance differently, not upon the toes of my mother, as I had done as a child, but with a grim figure, who coveted my life. I had escaped this dance many times even by the skin of my teeth. The steps repeat themselves over in my head, heavy with the knowledge of what lay ahead. All thoughts of escape and a grandiose return to my crew had been long since abandoned. They had left and I had no one to count on to help my escape, save Will, though I doubt that he would break the law in such a way after being pardoned, or at all for that matter. And bound by hand and shackled by foot I would be of little use to myself. It seems I will have to dance.

* * *

It never fails to amaze me the amount of people who will break their own necks to see another man's broken. I sighed in resignation, the beat of drums steady and heavy in my ears, at the great crowd, all of whom would take great pleasure in seeing my body swing from the gallows. 

"Jack Sparrow, be it known that you have…"

"Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow."

Why did no one ever remember the Captain? Is it truly that complicated to remember? If I didn't have a noose around my neck I would have shaken my head.

"…for your willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these to be cited herewith – piracy, smuggling, impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the Church of England…"

"Ah, yes." I remember that; great fun that was. I found that if I wasn't of the Articles, I could have been of the cloth… well, that's a lie, I couldn't stand a life of celibacy, but I would have been believable at least on most counts.

"…sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness. And for these crimes you have been sentenced to be, on this day, hung by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on your soul."

I never will understand the reasoning behind stating the manner of a man's execution when it was blatantly obvious. Of course, the practice was started by those under the crown, who tend to be a bit lacking in the way of intelligence.

The drum roll begins, fast and sharp in my ears. I steel myself and look out among the crowd. Pushing his way through the crowd was a man in a completely farsical hat with a huge feather. Looking closer I see that it's Will, I should have figured only someone like him would wear such an awful hat. The platform below my feet begins to fall, and there is the sudden sound of singing metal. As it turns out, I won't have to dance with Jack Catch. After all, I _am_ Captain Jack Sparrow, escaping death is what I do.


End file.
